Chenille’s cup hopes still alive
DIVINE intervention has kept Cambridge trainer Tony Pike’s Group I Auckland Cup hopes alive.
He was all set to withdraw his in-form hope Chenille from the feature due to the sodden state of the Ellerslie track before the call was made to postpone yesterday’s meeting.
‘‘A couple of mates rang me on Friday night to say it was hosing down again and I thought it was game over for us,’’ Pike said.
‘‘Her work on Thursday morning was outstanding and I couldn’t have been happier – she’s the best she’s been all season.’’
Pike has now been given a second chance at the Cup, a race he won in 2015 with Rock Diva, with the meeting now rescheduled for Thursday.
‘‘We need some good weather and strong winds for the track to come back to a reasonable surface,’’ he said.
‘‘Hopefully, it will dry quickly and give us some light at the end of the tunnel.’’
Chenille won the Karaka Stayers’ Cup three runs back before a rain-affected track tripped her up in the Avondale Cup.
The Pentire mare bounced back on a much firmer Ellerslie surface last Saturday with a commanding performance to claim top honours in the Nathans Memorial.
Pike also has his talented 2-year-old pair of Felton Road and Ujjayyi in the Group I Sistema Stakes.
The former won his first two starts before finishing third in the Karaka Million while Ujjayyi was successful on debut at Te Aroha.
She then ran off on the home bend in the Matamata Breeders’ Stakes.
‘‘Felton Road is a smart horse and he’s well and Ujjayyi, who clearly doesn’t go left-handed, is talented,’’ OPike said. ‘‘Whether she’s professional enough for a race like this I’m not sure.’’ ● The weather bomb hitting the northern part of New Zealand claimed one of the country’s biggest race days.
Heavy overnight rain and no sign of a let-up has forced the Auckland Racing Club to abandon Saturday’s meeting and reschedule the Auckland Cup day programme to Thursday.
A pre-dawn inspection of the Ellerslie track after over 100mm of rain had fallen, forced officials to abandon the 10-race card which included three Group I races.
At the start of the week the track was firm, but then then the weather bomb hit the northern region. Overnight Tuesday 72mm of rain sent the track to Dead 6, a rating that it held after a further 11mm up to yesterday afternoon.
But the heaviest rain arrived with the Ellerslie rain gauge showing more than 80mm and still rising as officials carried out their track inspection at 6am on Saturday morning
‘‘The meeting is off," ARC chief executive Cameron George said after the track inspection.
‘‘We’ve now had over 100mm Trish Dunell since late yesterday and the forecast is for further rain.
‘‘With that volume the track is starting to pool water and amongst various factors, clearly visibility would be an issue out on the track.
‘‘With the forecast for today it didn’t make sense to hold the meeting.
‘‘The plan now is to run the meeting as a twilight on Thursday, with the four Group races (Auckland Cup, Sistema Stakes, New Zealand Stakes and Westbury Classic) with a two or three race support card.’’
The club has since settled on seven-race card, the Group races complemented by a Rating 85 race over 1200 metres, a 2100m Rating 75 and a 1200m Rating 65 contest.
‘‘We should have a big crowd on-course to enjoy that. It’s unique and it could be a bit of a test case – it could be the way forward,’’ George said.
The long range forecast for Auckland is weather clearing tomorrow and clear skies for the remainder of the week. THE rescheduling of yesterdays’ Auckland Cup race meeting could prove costly for comeback jockey Jason Waddell.
Until the plug was pulled on Ellerslie, Waddell was anticipating a big day with the plum ride on New Zealand’s highest rated galloper Kawi, at the top of the list.
Waddell was due to commence a four-meeting suspension after yesterday’s races where he was booked for seven rides.
Now his fate is in the hands of a Judicial Control Authority panel who will make a decision on his eligibility to fulfill his riding engagements.
However, owners and trainers of the horse’s he is booked to ride will have an agonising wait until tomorrow to know whether he will be available.
It could be argued, Waddell apart, Kawi’s New Plymouth trainer Allan Sharrock and the gelding’s owners are under the most stress.
Kawi will run a short-priced favourite in the Group I Bonecrusher New Zealand Stakes, a race carrying $200,000 in prize money.
Sharrock is at a loss as to why they have to wait so long for an answer.
‘‘I’ve had offers from other jockeys to ride the horse," Sharrock said. "But I don’t want to consider any contingency plans to be honest.
‘‘We contracted him to ride the horse and we hope he can fulfil his obligations.He won on the horse last start and gets on well with him.
‘‘The jockey didn’t make the decision to postpone the meeting, none of us trainers did either, so why should we all be penalised like this?’’
After becoming aware that the RIU will enforce Waddell’s suspension immediately, his agent Darryl Anderson spoke with the JCA to explore options.
He has been told that a JCA panel will make a decision tomorrow and make a ruling.
JCA panelist and acting executive officer, Paul Williams, said the board is considering the situation which has been made more difficult due to a member being in Australia.
‘‘We are working on the assumption we will have all the information we require to make a decision on Monday by noon," he said. ‘‘It isn’t the first time the JCA has been involved in a similar situation but it is the first time for a long time that it’s involved a Group I meeting."